


Shadow Puppet

by still_lycoris



Category: Ayatsuri Sakon | Puppet Master Sakon, Death Note (Live Action TV)
Genre: Being Lost, Character Study, Gen, Puppets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 14:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17184962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/still_lycoris/pseuds/still_lycoris
Summary: Near and Mello get a little lost in Japan. Luckily, there's another man and a puppet there to help.





	Shadow Puppet

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 12dayschristmas.

It had been a long time since Near had been to Japan. It was rather different. And Near was quite a lot older and had experienced a lot of things that had overridden most of what had happened in Japan. Which meant that on the whole, everything was quite strange and there was a small possibility that they were lost.

Mello wasn't helping.

“You've fucked it up.”

“Don't talk so loudly, Mello. It's not polite.”

“Who cares?! You've fucked it up. Said you would. Why didn't you let _me_ sort it out?!”

Near didn't answer that question on the grounds that it wasn't worth answering. Mello had a tendency to sort problems out by setting them on fire. Which had its occasional uses but L and Watari didn't tend to like it very much and Near was supposed to be learning to cope without that. Besides, it wasn’t so hard to navigate the Japanese transport system. In theory. Setting it on fire would certainly make it more complicated.

“Are you lost?”

The voice was very polite but Mello didn't like it anyway. Mello was always suspicious of strangers. 

“Mind your own fucking business, weirdo!”

Near turned to see if Mello was being fair or not. The young man standing close to them looking fairly normal – although he was also carrying a puppet with bright red hair. A very beautifully made puppet, actually, probably extremely old and expensive. Maybe Mello was jealous.

“Sakon's not a weirdo! You're a weirdo!” the puppet said, folding his arms. “And cheap.”

“Ukon,” Sakon said quietly but Mello was riled up.

“ _Cheap?_ Who the fuck are you calling cheap?! Just because I don't have girly hair, you think that makes me cheap?!”

“No, the fact that you look like you were painted by a five year old makes you look cheap!”

Near thoughtfully put a hand over Mello's mouth before he could respond to this. Mello was getting extremely cross and Near didn't think that it was a good idea to let him get any angrier. Sometimes, it was difficult to keep control when Mello was really angry. Near was in Japan to help L, not to let anybody get hurt over which puppet was the nicest puppet.

“We are a bit lost. Can you help?”

Mello wouldn't like this of course – Mello didn't trust almost anybody, it was why Mello was there in the first place. But Near knew that there _were_ people out there you could trust – at least, a little bit. And a man carrying round a very expensive puppet – because Ukon clearly was expensive – and letting it speak for him was definitely strange. Near liked strange people. 

Also, Sakon didn’t question the “we.”

He was able to help. He looked at the map (Ukon held it while he did) and explained where Near needed to go, then suggested they went together. Apparently, he and Ukon weren’t actually going anywhere in particular and could change plans at a moment’s notice.

“I like to travel,” he said, sounding a little shy. “There are a lot of places that don’t get to see much in the way of puppet shows.”

“And even when they do, they don’t see anything as brilliant as _me_ ,” Ukon said, looking extremely smug. “ _I_ am over three hundred years old after all. There’s no puppet more important than _I_ am.”

Near put a hand back over Mello’s mouth, just in case he decided to say anything. It would have been excessively rude. Ukon was a beautiful puppet. Quite different from Mello. Of course, Mello wasn’t supposed to be beautiful. L had said that when he had given him to Near. Mello was a representation of what the Inside-Mello was supposed to be. Rough and sharp and angry. All of Mello was supposed to go into the puppet and all of Near was supposed to stay outside. It mostly worked, though Mello sometimes got cross about being stuck in the puppet. It was harder to hit things when you were in a puppet.

The train was quite comfortable and Near was tired. Sakon looked rather tired too and they both fell silent fairly quickly.

Mello looked at Ukon. Ukon glared back.

“You’re staring!”

“You’re staring too!”

They both glared at each other for a moment, considering getting into a fight. Then Mello sniffed.

“Why’d you shack up with your idiot then?”

“Sakon’s not at idiot! He’s better with puppets than pretty much anyone. He’s a genius.”

“Yeah, well, Near’s a genius about most stuff. S’just that the little idiot needs looking after.”

If Near had been awake, Near would have protested this. After all, it wasn’t that Near was an idiot. It was just that as far as Mello was concerned, Near needed protecting and it didn’t matter how often L and Watari disagreed with this. Mello knew his job and he did it. No matter what got in the way.

Ukon seemed to understand this more than humans did though. He nodded slightly.

“Yeah. Sakon’s like that too. Some people just can’t take care of themselves, right?”

Mello couldn’t really nod. He wasn’t built that way. He could jerk though and he did, an acknowledgement that maybe Ukon wasn’t quite so stupid. That they both knew that sometimes, people got damaged and they needed something else to help them get through life.

They didn’t say it out-loud though.

After all, they _were_ just puppets.


End file.
